Stop-motion device



w. s. MILLS AN-D IE. BISAILLON. S TOP MOTION DEVICE. APPLICATION- mLEp' MAY a, 1920i 1,380,003. Bat ted May'm, 1921;

W. S. MILLS AND H.'E. BISAILLON STOP MOTION DEVICE. APPLICATION. flLED MAY 3, I920. 1,380,003. n e May 31, 1921.

3SHEETS-SHEET 2- .W.S. MILLS AND H. E. BISAILLON.

STOP MOTION DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. 1920.

1,380,003. Patented May 31,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Irwenfonr.

WILLIAM s. runs, or TRUMBU'LL, AND HEcroRE. BIsAIL oN, or IBRIDGEPORT,

:TENT- HCE- CONNECTICUT.

STOP-MOTION DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 3, 1920. Serial No. 378,406.

' vices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an automatic stop motion device for sewing machines or the like, and which is set into action by a knot or lump in the thread before such knot or lump arrives at a point where it might cause damage, as by causing a breakage of the thread or bendin of the needle when such knot or lump readhes the needle of a sewing machine. The present improvement relates to a device, of the class just referred to, which is more especially intended for use with multiple needle sewing'machines, but may be constructed for use with a single or two needle machine. To this endthe invention, in its preferred form, comprises a tripping arm or arms provided with a plurality of narrow slots or slits which will permit the free passage ofthe threads, but which, when a knot or lump in one of the threads comes along will be tripped so as to release a latch lever and thus enable suitable connecting mechanism to apply a brake to the power shaft of the machine to be stopped, as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings Figure 1 is anelevation of the improved stop-motion device. Figi 2 is an end view of the same, .looking from the left, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial end view looking from the rightFig. 1. Fig.4 is a top or plan view of the invention. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the lower end of the latch-lever and the operating pin for said lever.

Referring to the drawings, 12 denotes a bracket or support whichmay be attached to a work bench convenientlyadjacent to a sewing machine in connection with which the improved stop motion deviceis to beused, said bracket'h'aving uprights 13 and 14 affording bearings for a rock-shaft 15 provided at itsforward end, outside of the upright 14, with an arm 16'having at its upper end a pin 17 engaging the lower end of a latch-lever 18'pivoted to said upright 14 and having a beveled upper end adapted to-be engaged by, a hook 21 on a holding Patented May 31, 1921.

latch 22 carried by atlipping rockshaft 23 journaled in bearings affordedby the upwardly projecting arms 24L of-a bracket'25 mounted on the upright 14." The latchlever 18 is provided at its lower end with an inclined finger 19 rearward of which is a lug 20 affording a notch 20" arranged to be entered'by the pin 17 on the arm 1610f the rock-shaft15J The tripping rock-shaft 23, in the form of the invention herein'shown, carries two fixed threads. The slits 28'have V-shaped or in} wardly tapering open ends 29 which serve to'facilitate the entranceof the treads in said slits, and which also serve,'-'in conjunction with the thread guides'30' and 31, ar-

ranged adjacent-to andon opposite sides of said tripping arms, to'permit the escape of the knots or lumps from the tripping arms when the latter are moved downward in the tripping operations, thereby avoiding breaking the threads by the machine,

which is objectionable, even though the threads have to be broken by the attendant to remove the knots "or lumps Mounted on screws'32 tapped in the arms 24 of the bracket 25'are'collars 33 slitted to receive the shanks 30 of the thread guides 30. The outer edges' of'said shanks'project slightly beyond the outer ends of parts of said collars so as to beheld in anydesired positions of adjustment by washers 35, beneath the heads of the screws 32, when said screws" are tightened. This construction permits of double adjustment'of the thread guides, to wit: a longitudinal adjustment throughthe slits'in the 'collarse ntered by said shanks, and an axial adjustment by turning the said collars on said screws. virtue ofthis double adjustment the thread guides 30 may befixed-in any desired'positions relative to the slitted portions of the tripping arms 26. The shanks 31 of the thread guides 31 are preferably formed in two parts adjustably secured together by screw and slot connections (see Fig. 2) said arms being adjustably attached to the bracket 25-also by screw and slot connec tions, and this construction also affords a double adjustment of the thread guides31 which may be raised or lowered by contracting or extending the two-part shanks thereof, and said thread guides may also be adjusted toward and from the tripping arms by reason of the horizontal adjustment afforded by their screw and slot connections with the said bracket 25.

The tripping rock shaft 23 is provided with a fixed arm 36 normally yieldingly held by a coil spring 37 against an adjust;- able stop 38, the hooked latch 22 normally engaging the upper end of the latch-lever 18 to hold the said lever in the position denoted in full lines in Fig. 2. This engagement of the said latch and latch-lever is a yielding one, by virtue of the coil spring 37", as will be understood.

The rock-shaft 15 is provided at its rear end with a tappet 40 arranged to engage the long arm of a lever 41 pivotally mounted in a yoke 42 preferably vertically adjustable in a boss 43 on a plate 44 which is to be attached to the sewing machine table or work bench beneath the driving or power haft 45 of the sewing machine; said lever being normally yieldingly pressed upward toward said tappet by a spring 46. The short arm of the lever 41 is provided with a brake shoe 47 arranged beneath the grooved driving pulley 48 on the sewing machine power shaft 45 so that when the stop device is tripped by the engagement of a knot or lump in the thread with a tripping arm on the tripping rock-shaft 23, and the latch 22 is released from the latchlever 18, the rock-shaft 15 will. be partially rotated by the torsional spring 37 encircling said rock-shaft, and the tappet 40 will force the long arm of the lever 41 downward, thus lifting the brake shoe 47 into engagement with the said driving pulley of the sewing machine power shaft and thereby stop the machine. One end of the torsional coil. spring 37 is engaged with the upright 14 and the other end thereof is engaged with a coller 37" attached by screws to the rock-shaft 15, and by turning said coller on said shaft the stress of saidspring may be varied as may be desired.

The rock-shaft 15 is provided at its rear end with an arm or handle 49 which, after the stopping operation, may be lifted by the attendant to restore the parts to their normal positions, and in this resetting opcreation the latch-lever 18 will be moved from the position shown in dotted'lines in Fig.2 where it rests against a stop 50, to the position shown in full lines in said figure. In this resetting operation the pin 17 on the arm 16 will engage the lug 20 at the lower end of the latch lever 18 while, when the said latch-lever is released from the tripping arm, the said pin will, by engagement with the inclined finger 19, at the lower end of said latch-lever, move the said latch-lever from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In this resetting movement the inclined upperend of the latch-lever engages the inclined outer face of the hooked latch 22, thus lifting said latch against the stress of the spring 37 to enable the latchlever to pass by the. outer end of said latch which will then fall into engagement with the'upper end of said latch-lever. While the resetting armor handle 49 on the rockshaft 15 will serve as a convenient means for restoring the parts to their normal or non-stop posit-ions, it will be understood that any convenient means to be operated by the attendant, as a treadle or the like, suitably connected with the rock-shaft 15, maybe employed for this purpose.

By virtue of the adjustable stop .38, against which the arm 36 on the tripping rock-shaft 23 normally rests it will be understood that the normal position of the tripping arms 26 on said rock-shaft 23 may be varied, asmay be desired, to vary the extent of engagement of the hooked latch 22 with the upper end of the latch-lever 18, and these parts may thus be set so that only a very slight movement of the tripping rock-shaft will be required in order to set the stop-motion device into opera tion.

This invention is a variation or modification of the stop-motion device set forth in our application No. 315,352, filed 'August 4, 1919, and in which the invention is somewhat more broadly claimed than in the present case. i

Having thus described our invention we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a stop-motion device, the combination with a power shaft provided with a wheel to which a brake may be applied, of a tripping mechanism comprising a springactuated rock-shaft having. a I tappet, a bracket supporting said rock-shaft, a lever arranged to be operated by said tappet, a brake device operated by saidlever and arranged to act on said wheel, a latch-lever mounted on said bracket and operativcly connected with said rock-shaft, aspringheld tripping rock-shaft supported by said bracket and carrying a hooked holding latch normally engaging said latch-lever and holding'the stop-motion device inactive, a. tripping arm carried by said-rock-shaft and provided with one or more narrow slits permitting free passage of. a thread or threads. butadapted to be tripped by knots or lumps in the threads, to release said latch from said latch-lever and set the stop-motion device into operation to apply said brake device to said wheel on said power shaft,

. 2. In a stop-motion device, the combination. with a power shaft provided with a wheel to'which a brake may be applied, of a tripping mechanism comprising a springactuated rock-shaft having a tappet, a

and holding the stop-motion device inactive, one or more tripping arms carried byv said rock-shaft and provided with a plu-' rality of narrow slits permitting free passage of a thread or threads, but adapted to v b'e'tripped by knots or lumps in the threads to release said latch from said latch lever and set the stop-motion device into opera-. I I

- act ve, tI1PPlI1g means for releasing the tion to apply said brake device to said wheel on said power shaft.

3. In a stop-motion device for multiple it needlesewing machines, the combination with means for arresting the movement of the driving or power shaft of a machine, means for holding the stopping device inactive, and tripping means for releasing the holding means, said tripping means comprising one or more tripping arms having a plurality of narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adapted to be actuated by knots or lumps in the moving threads.

4. In a stop-motion device for multiple needle sewing machines, the combination with means for arresting the movement of the driving or power shaft of a machine, means for holding the stop ing device inactive, tripping means for re easing the holding means, said tripping means comprising one or more tripping arms having a plurality of narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adapted to be actuated by knots or lumps in the moving threads, said slits having inwardly tapering or V-shaped open ends.

5. In a stop-motion device for multiple needle sewing machines, the combination with means for arresting the movement of the driving or power shaft of a machine, means for holding the stopping device inactive, tripping means for releasing the holding means, said tripping means comprising one or more tripping arms having a plurality of narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adapted to be actuated by knots or lumps in the moving threads, said slits having inwardly tapering or V-shaped open ends, and thread-guides arranged adjacent to and ofsjaid tripping arms. V

6. Ina stop-motiondevice for multiple needle sewing 'machines, the combination with means for arresting the movement of the driving or power shaft of a machine, means for holdingthe stopping device inactive, -tripping means for releasing the hold ing means, said tripping means comprising one-or more tripping arms having a pluralon opposite; sides ity of-narrow slits permitting the free pas sage of threads but adapted to be actuated by knots or :lumps in the moving threads,

said slits having inwardly tapering-or V- shaped: open ends, and thread-guides arranged adjacent to and on opposite sides of said tripping arms, said guides being ads justab'le-zso' that theyrmay be brought into proper operative relation to said tripping arms. ,7 *Ina stopmotion device for multiple needle sewing machines, thewcombination with means for arresting the movement of the; driving or power shaft'of a machine, means for holding the stopping deviceinholding mean s, said tripping means comprising one or more tripping arms having a' plurality vof narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adaptedto be actuated. by knots or lumps in the moving threads, said-slits having inwardly tapering or 'V-shaped open ends, and thread-guides arranged adjacent to and on opposite sides of 'said tripping arms, said guides each having double adjustments so that they may be brought into proper operative relation to said tripping arms. I

8. In a stop-motion device, the combination with a bracket or support adapted to be attached to a work bench or table, a rock- 7 shaft mounted in said bracket or support, a torsional spring encircling and acting on said rock-shaft, an arm on said rock-shaft provided with a pin, a latch-lever pivotally mounted on said bracket or support and adapted to be engaged and operated by said pin, a spring-held tripping rock-shaft, a latch on said rock-shaft arranged to engage said latch-lever and hold the stopping mechanism inactive against the stress of said spring, one or more tripping arms carried.

by said rock-shaft and having narrow slits permitting the passage of threads but adapted to be operated'by knots or lumps in the threads to trip the holding latch and thus permitthe stopping mechanism to act, a power shaft, and means, actuated from the said first-named rock-shaft, for arresting the movement of saidpower shaft.

9.In a stop-motion device, the combina tion with a bracket or support adapted to i be attached to a work-bench or table, a rockshaft mounted in said bracket or support, a tappet earned by said rock-shaft, a torsional spring encircling and actingon saidrockshaft, an arm on said rock-shaft provided with a pin, a latch-lever pivotally mounted on said bracket or support and adapted to be engaged and operated by said pin, a springheld tripping rock-shaft, a latch on said rock-shaft arranged to engage said latchlever and hold the stopping mechanism inactive against the stress of said spring, one or more tripping arms carried by said rockshaft and having narrow slits permitting the passage of threads but adapted to be 0perated by knots or lumps in the threads to trip the holding latch and thus permit the stopping mechanism to act, a power shaft having a grooved driving pulley, a brakecarrying leveroperated by said tappet to apply a brake to said driving pulley when a tripping arm is operated and said latch is released from said latch-lever.

10. A stop-motion device for multiple needle sewing machines, comprising stopping means for arresting the movement of the power or driving shaft of a machine, means for holding said stopping meansinoperative, tripping means for releasing said holding means, said tripping means comprising an arm having a plurality of narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adapted to be tripped, to release said holding means, by knots. orlumps in the thread.

11. A stop-motion device for multiple needle sewing machines, comprising stopping means for' arresting the movement of the power or driving shaft of a machine, means for holding said stopping means inoperative, tripping means for releasing said holding means, said tripping means comprising anarm having a plurality of narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adapted to be tripped, to release said holding means,'by knots or lumps in the thread, said slits having inwardly tapering or V-shaped open ends.

12. A H stop-motion device for multiple needle sewing machines, comprising stopping means for arresting the movement of the power or driving shaft of a machine, means for holding said stopping means inoperative, tripping means for releasing said holding means, said tripping means compris ing an arm having a plurality of narrow slits permitting the free passage of threads but adapted to be, tripped, to release said holdin means, by knots or lumps in the thread, said slits having inwardly tapering or V- shaped open ends, and plural thread guides arranged adjacent to and on opposite sides of said tripping arm. v In testimony whereof we afHX'our signatures.

WILLIAM S. MILLS. HECTOR E. BISAILLON. 

